She's Always a Woman
by BookWorm37
Summary: Daniel's waking up and thinking about Vala. DanVala. Major SJ in second chapter, but still mostly DV. I decided to branch out this time! COMPLETE! Sequel Added.
1. She's Always a Woman

A/N: It's different from what I normally do, but I hope you all like it anyway.

* * *

Daniel groaned as his radio alarm clock went off and the oldie's station came on the air. It wasn't that he liked oldies or anything like that, but it was better than all that crap people called "rap" and "hip-hop" that was on the air nowadays. 

He rolled out of bed and put on his glasses so he could see to turn off the radio. As the lyrics started to sound, however, his fingers hesitated before pushing the "off" button. When the lyrics hit home, Daniel removed his hand and leaned back in bed, letting them wash over his mind.

_She can kill with a smile  
She can wound with her eyes  
She can ruin your faith with her casual lies  
And she only reveals what she wants you to see  
She hides like a child  
But she's always a woman to me_

Billy Joel was a great artist and it helped Daniel a lot (especially in recent months) to be able to wake up to the man's voice on the air. His lyrics just spoke so true to the archeologist that he couldn't stop listening to Billy Joel's songs and revel in the truth of it all.

Most of the time it was comparisons to Sam and Jack that Daniel found in the songs and briefly he wondered if Jack had written some of those songs. That was how much they embodied what Jack had told Daniel of his feelings (not much) and what Daniel had seen with his own two eyes through the years._  
_

_She can lead you to live_  
_She can take you or leave you_  
_She can ask for the truth_  
_But she'll never believe you_  
_And she'll take what you give her as long as it's free_  
_She steals like a thief_  
_But she's always a woman to me_

He didn't hear the next verses that came on the air. His thoughts had gone the one place he didn't want them to: Vala. Where was she? Was she alive somewhere? Lying in some other man's bed? Was she safe wherever she was? Did she miss him?

He didn't know the answers to those questions, but he did know that _he_ missed her and ever since she's been transported to Ori territory he'd felt only half himself. She was a thief and a liar and she was rather childlike in her actions sometimes…but man was she a woman!

It scared Daniel that he'd fallen so completely for the space pirate. He thought that his heart was still Sha're's. There'd always be a special place in his heart for his long dead wife…but now it was time for him to get on with life with someone who could love him back as completely as he could love them.

_She is frequently kind  
And she's suddenly cruel  
She can do as she pleases  
She's nobody's fool  
But she can't be convicted  
She's earned her degree  
And the most she will do  
Is throw shadows at you  
But she's always a woman to me_

Daniel turned off his radio and got up to start the coffee. "_She's Always a Woman to Me_" dancing around in his head as his body went through the motions of getting ready for work. Maybe they'd find a way to save themselves today. Maybe he'd see her again soon. Maybe she'd stop stealing all his stuff every time she visited. Yeah right!

* * *

"Hey, Daniel," Sam said with a smile as Daniel sat down next to her in the commissary. She glanced at him worriedly, "You okay?" 

Daniel shook his head and brought his hands up to cover his face, "No. I heard a Billy Joel song on the radio this morning."

Sam looked at him confused, "I'm sorry?"

Daniel looked at her, realizing what his words must have sounded like, "No, Billy Joel's a great artist. I really like his songs…but this one. _She's Always a Woman_."

"Ah," Sam knew the song quite well and everything clicked for her, "You're thinking about Vala?"

It was more a statement than a question, but Daniel answered anyway, "Yes."

The klaxons blared as Walter came on the intercom with the usual warning, "Unscheduled off world activation!"

Sam and Daniel shared a look of concern before running all the way to the control room (minus running while in the elevator).

Just as they walked into the control room Walter was telling General Landry, "We're receiving an IDC now, sir. It's Vala."

Daniel's heart leapt to his throat as the iris opened and the woman who'd stolen his heart walked through the 'Gate. He ran down and gave her a hug.

Vala smirked at him as he pulled away, "What was that for? Miss me?"

Daniel glared at her in the way that was common to them, "No. It was a reflex."

Vala glanced up at the control room, "Some reflex, Daniel. Now, I have news."

"What is it this time? Another Ori attack on the galaxy? Another tablet that will lead us to a huge cash of weapons?"

Vala looked at him seriously, "I'm pregnant. And it's yours."

Daniel thought back to her last visit a few months ago. They hadn't…had they? "What? That's impossible!"

Vala just smirked, patting Daniel's cheek with one of her hands, "That's what I love about you, Daniel. You're so gullible."

Daniel growled as Vala walked like a coquette out of the 'Gate room and to the infirmary. The last verse of that song came to his mind again:

_She is frequently kind  
And she's suddenly cruel  
She can do as she pleases  
She's nobody's fool  
But she can't be convicted  
She's earned her degree  
And the most she will do  
Is throw shadows at you  
But she's always a woman to me_

_

* * *

_A/N: Well, what do you all think? I was listening to the song and I just couldn't help myself! The story wrote itself and demanded to be written! Please review so I don't feel like this was a complete waste of time!


	2. Love is a Battlefield

A/N: Here's a treat for you all! A SECOND chapter! Don't be expecting more, though. I exhausted my resources of Dan/Vala with this one methinks.

* * *

Sam knocked on the door to the room Vala was staying in. "Com in," she heard a muffled voice say from inside. Sam opened the door to find Vala sitting on her bed with tears running down her face. 

"What do you want, Colonel Carter?" Vala sniffled, wiping her eyes with her sleeve.

Sam walked over and sat down on the bed next to her, "I wanted to see if you were all right, Vala. I haven't really made an effort to get to know you since I've been back…and I thought it would be nice."

Vala laughed harshly, "I highly doubt _that_, Colonel. Why are you really here?"

Sam looked at Vala with a mix of emotions on her face, "First of all, _Vala_, my name is Sam. Second, you remind me of someone. That's why I'm here."

"Who?" Vala was curious enough about Sam's words to pose the question.

"My husband."

"You're married? Wow, why doesn't anyone talk about it?" Vala was now _very_ curious about what Sam was saying – and why she was there.

"Only five people at the SGC know…well, six now."

"Who'd you marry?"

"Jack O'Neill."

Vala furrowed her brow; Daniel had spoken about him…she thought they'd met in Washington, but she couldn't really remember. "I sense a story here," she finally said.

Sam grinned bashfully, "Yeah, Jack was my CO for eight years before we finally were in a position where we could get married."

Tears came unbidden to Vala's eyes. She had no clue _why_ she wanted to cry after Sam's statement, but she did. Sam gathered her up into her arms and Vala just let the tears flow. It felt nice for the space pirate to have someone (albeit female) hold her as she wept.

"He doesn't like me," she finally said.

Without asking, Sam knew who she was talking about. She pulled her closer and stroked her hair, "Yes he does, Vala."

"No, he doesn't. He hates me and think I'm too overbearing and mean and rude…"

"Vala, do you want to experience more of Earth culture?" Sam asked, seemingly out of the blue.

"Why, yes, of course," she said, momentarily forgetting her tears.

"Come on," Sam led her out of the room and to General Landry's office to obtain permission for her to go off base. Landry looked at Sam like she was crazy.

"You're responsible for everything she does, Major," the general told her in no uncertain terms. "If she breaks something it's on _your_ tab."

"Yes, sir, I understand," Sam said, knowing that the only problem with her plan was keeping Vala in line on the _way_.

"Very well, permission granted." Landry thought that his top scientist was certifiably insane after her latest request…but she didn't request much, so what could he do?

* * *

"Okay, do you want cookie dough or Rocky Road ice cream?" Sam said as she led Vala down the isles at the grocery store. She didn't have the necessary foods for a girls' night in, but a 24-hour mini-mart was rather close to her house (proved _very_ useful on many late night occasions with Jack). 

Vala looked at her oddly, "What?"

Sam realized her mistake, "Right, wrong person to ask. We'll get both. Ooohh, chocolate. You do know about chocolate, right?" Vala nodded affirmative: she knew about _chocolate_ all right.

"Red or white wine? Hmm…I think these bottles will do fine," Sam chose a selection of five to suit their needs. If they didn't drink it that night, Jack could always use it in a sauce or something the next time he cooked dinner.

A short five minutes later Sam and Vala were back in Sam's car and on their way to Sam's house for _what _exactly, Vala wasn't sure.

* * *

Back at Sam's house, she immediately got to work on helping Vala learn the art of venting and men bashing. Well…Vala really didn't need a whole bunch of help on the latter, but it was nice to learn the Tauri way of performing the art. 

"First, before we do anything else," Sam said, with a glass of White Zinfandel in her hand, "You have to listen to this song. Daniel heard it this morning and he was nearly in tears thinking of you."

Vala turned wide eyes to Sam, "I highly doubt _that_. He wasn't exactly _thrilled_ to see me."

"He hugged you."

"And then he demanded to know if I came to lead you on anymore wild goose chases!"

"Just listen to the song!" Sam pressed play on her CD player and _She's Always a Woman_ filled the room. There was a mix of Sam's favorite songs in the stereo, so she just sat down and let Vala get the feel of the music.

As the song played tears came to Vala's eyes again: Daniel was reminded of her when he heard this? It was so…sad that he thought all of those words connected with her, but it was sweet in its own way. 'She's always a woman to me…' That's what the song had said. Vala only hoped it was true.

As the song ended she suddenly noticed that she had a whole half-gallon of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream in front of her just waiting to be consumed. Vala set right on that, listening to the next song that came on.

_We are young, heartache to heartache we stand  
No promises, no demands  
Love is a battlefield  
We are strong, no one can tell us were wrong  
Searchin our hearts for so long, both of us knowing  
Love is a battlefield_

_You're beggin' me to go, you're makin' me stay  
Why do you hurt me so bad?  
It would help me to know  
Do I stand in your way, or am I the best thing you've had?  
Believe me, believe me, I cant tell you why  
But I'm trapped by your love, and I'm chained to your side_

_That_ sounded interesting. To Vala it was the truest song she'd heard in ages.

_You're beggin' me to go, you're makin' me stay  
Why do you hurt me so bad?_

Sam and Vala's eyes connected when those two lines played. Both of them thought back to the recent bracelet incident and then to how fickle Daniel had been since. Vala _really_ liked this song.

The two listened intently to the rest of the song as Vala delved deeper and deeper into the ice cream container, and Sam deeper and deeper into the wine bottle.

We are strong, no one can tell us were wrong  
Searchin our hearts for so long, both of us knowing  
Love is a battlefield

Those three lines became their manta as the night continued and Vala started complaining about everything that was wrong with Daniel, but commenting on everything she loved about him, too.

Finally, when Sam had switched from the wine to the Rocky Road and chocolate bars, and Vala was on full blown chocolate and Chardonnay, Jack came home with a rather distraught looking archeologist.

Sam squealed when she saw her husband and jumped into his arms, "Jack! I've missed you _so_ much!"

Jack hugged Sam back, looking at the living room oddly, "Have you been drinking tonight, Sam?"

Sam giggled, "Maybe a little," she said, letting go and pulling him into the living room. It was only in the doorway to the living room that Sam noticed Daniel. She scowled at him and said, "You're mean."

Jack turned to Daniel, "Danny, what did you do to my wife?"

Daniel looked at Sam a little frightened for his own safety, "Nothing that I know of, Jack."

"What'd he do?" Jack asked Sam.

"Nothing to me, but he's doing _everything_ to Vala!"

"What's Vala got to do with this?" Daniel asked.

Sam turned up her nose at Daniel as if to say "If you don't know, then I'm not telling you" and walked into the living room to go sit by the woman in question on the couch and eat chocolate.

"Hey! That was mine!" Vala wined when Sam took one of the chocolate bars that was in her 'stack'.

"I bought them!" Sam argued back in the manner that was common for drunk women.

Jack and Daniel watched them bicker from the doorway, both men terrified to step inside the room. It looked _scary_.

Vala noticed Daniel standing in the doorway and pointed at him angrily, "You're mean!"

"What did I do?" Daniel asked.

Sam and Vala shot up their noses and turned away from him, "You're _mean_," as if _that_ explained everything. Which, of course, to the two women saying it…it did.

Vala whispered something to Sam and she turned on the stereo, letting _Love is a Battlefield_ fill the air again. This time, however, Vala and Sam were singing along in perfect harmony (and perfectly off-key).

_We are strong, no one can tell us were wrong  
Searchin our hearts for so long, both of us knowing  
Love is a battlefield_

They sang the last chords of the song, and suddenly it all became clear to a still rather distraught Daniel. Jack was just focusing on one thing: his wife was so serious and angry right then it was humorous…and she looked kinda cute.

"Vala?" Daniel asked tentatively when the song ended and Sam turned off the CD. "Can we talk, please?"

"I don't want to talk to you," a rather drunk Vala said with unshed tears in her eyes, "You're _mean_."

Sam nudged her, "Just talk to him, Vala. Jack and I will be in the back in case you need us. Just yell."

Vala nodded, "Okay, Sam."

After Sam and Jack had left and Daniel heard the door close, he sat down with a sigh. "I'm sorry if I hurt you."

Vala sniffled at his words, "Do you mean that, Daniel?"

"I'm sorry you think I'm mean. And I'm sorry I did something to make you think I'm mean," Daniel said, scooting closer to her.

"It's okay, Daniel. I can be mean sometimes, too."

The resulting kiss put both their minds at ease of all wrongdoing. No matter what had happened, no matter how hard things got…they'd make it. Love is a battlefield, and Daniel and Vala were determined to be its best warriors. Fighting together.

Fin

* * *

A/N: Please don't hit me! I had to use that Pat Benitar song -it just fit SOO WELL! Please review! Sorry, I couldn't resist the S/J I put in here.  



End file.
